With help from community, mother hopes for a better 2014

Laronda Coleman shows a picture of her baby four-month old Justice Morrison, center, along with her daughters from Left. Amorra Brown, 4, Ka-Leah Brown, 10 and Ka-Mirah Brown 11, at their apartment in Ocala, FL on Friday January 3, 2014.

Alan Youngblood/Ocala Star-Banner

By Marian RizzoCorrespondent

Published: Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 9:49 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 9:49 p.m.

Laronda Coleman is hoping 2014 will be a better year than last year.

Coleman, a single mother of four daughters, gave birth to her youngest child seven weeks early on Aug. 26 at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The 4-month-old baby, Justice Morrison, has two holes in her heart and was born with several physical problems, including seizures, and possible mental disability related to Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, Coleman said.

“One minute she’s doing good, the next minute, she’s not. It’s back and forth,” Coleman said. “She was 2 pounds, 3 ounces when she was born. They said they could do heart surgery when she was 6 pounds or better. Now she’s 6 pounds, 5 ounces, but they don’t want to do it at all because she’s not strong enough. She just keeps getting worse and worse. After her G-tube surgery, I was able to hold her. She would cry. She don’t open her eyes anymore. Now she’s just lying there. I pretty much just put her in God’s hands.”

Coleman, an employee at an Olive Garden restaurant, lost work hours while recuperating from her C-section delivery. And running back and forth to the hospital to see her baby made it difficult to get back to work. As a result, she got $1,735 behind on her rent. She also had taken out a loan for a truck so she drive her kids to school and now she wonders how she will make the payments.

Scott Hackmyer, a volunteer with Community With A Heart, presented Coleman’s case at Thursday’s board meeting. The board awarded Coleman its cap of $1,200 to help with back rent, with the condition she make up the remaining $535 as she returns to work.

Hackmyer said he was impressed with the family during the required home visit.

“It seemed like a close-knit family, all supporting of each other,” he said. “This is a crisis time for this family, but I had a sense that they would get through it, but they need to have this help from the community to ease their burden. With the limit that CWAH has, it’s still going to leave her behind. I’m going to explore other resources to help her with this rent. This is such a generous community. It might be that somebody will step up and help her.”

Though Coleman has returned to work, she is sometimes called to the hospital because her baby’s health has declined. The hospital staff suggested she stay at a nearby Ronald McDonald House, but she said she needs to work and also must take care of her other three daughters, Ka-Mirah Brown, 11; Ka-Leah Brown, 10; and Amorra Mims, 5.

To make things worse, an additional $475 for rent was due Jan. 1, leaving Coleman responsible for $1,010.

Coleman’s landlord, Fred Wright, co-owner of the quadruplex, said he has been allowing her more time in order to avoid eviction.

“Thank God somebody’s helping her,” Wright said of the CWAH award. “The $1,200 will bring her up to the end of December. She’s a nice lady and she keeps her apartment clean.”

During the CWAH meeting, several agencies stepped up to provide other types of assistance. Brother’s Keeper paid $50 toward Coleman’s electric bill. Alice Hodgkins, a representative of The Salvation Army, offered to assist with other needs. Sonya Tyler, chief operating officer at Interfaith Emergency Services, is providing gas cards for Coleman’s trips to Shands. Interfaith also is assisting with food, clothing and hygiene items for the family, Tyler said.

Interfaith has received $17,600 for rent and mortgage assistance through an annual United Way dispersement of FEMA money. Tyler said some of those funds will be used to help with Coleman’s back rent, if she meets the requirements.

Hackmyer is thrilled at the way the agencies have rallied.

“That so typifies Community With A Heart, everybody stepping forward to help those in need,” he said. “She’s just a very nice woman who’s going through this emotional crisis, a baby in intensive care and not being able to pay her bills because of it.”

Coleman said was shocked recently to receive a past-due bill for $2,911.68 from UF Health Physicians. Upon calling the office, she learned that Medicaid had not paid her baby’s doctor bills. She also found out the hospital bill had topped more than $617,000, with no indication of insurance benefits. The hospital’s billing department is sending her a financial aid form, she said.

Lena Smith, a representative from Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida and a CWAH board member, said Coleman has been referred to her office regarding the hospital bill.

Meanwhile, Coleman said her family was helped during Christmas with toys provided by Marion County Children’s Alliance, Brother’s Keeper and Ocala Springs Elementary School.

“It’s been a roller coaster ride for me,” she said. “My hope right now is just getting through this. I want to go back to school and get my diploma or GED. I’m striving to have a better year this year.”

<p>Laronda Coleman is hoping 2014 will be a better year than last year.</p><p>Coleman, a single mother of four daughters, gave birth to her youngest child seven weeks early on Aug. 26 at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The 4-month-old baby, Justice Morrison, has two holes in her heart and was born with several physical problems, including seizures, and possible mental disability related to Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, Coleman said.</p><p>“One minute she's doing good, the next minute, she's not. It's back and forth,” Coleman said. “She was 2 pounds, 3 ounces when she was born. They said they could do heart surgery when she was 6 pounds or better. Now she's 6 pounds, 5 ounces, but they don't want to do it at all because she's not strong enough. She just keeps getting worse and worse. After her G-tube surgery, I was able to hold her. She would cry. She don't open her eyes anymore. Now she's just lying there. I pretty much just put her in God's hands.”</p><p>Coleman, an employee at an Olive Garden restaurant, lost work hours while recuperating from her C-section delivery. And running back and forth to the hospital to see her baby made it difficult to get back to work. As a result, she got $1,735 behind on her rent. She also had taken out a loan for a truck so she drive her kids to school and now she wonders how she will make the payments.</p><p>Scott Hackmyer, a volunteer with Community With A Heart, presented Coleman's case at Thursday's board meeting. The board awarded Coleman its cap of $1,200 to help with back rent, with the condition she make up the remaining $535 as she returns to work.</p><p>Hackmyer said he was impressed with the family during the required home visit.</p><p>“It seemed like a close-knit family, all supporting of each other,” he said. “This is a crisis time for this family, but I had a sense that they would get through it, but they need to have this help from the community to ease their burden. With the limit that CWAH has, it's still going to leave her behind. I'm going to explore other resources to help her with this rent. This is such a generous community. It might be that somebody will step up and help her.”</p><p>Though Coleman has returned to work, she is sometimes called to the hospital because her baby's health has declined. The hospital staff suggested she stay at a nearby Ronald McDonald House, but she said she needs to work and also must take care of her other three daughters, Ka-Mirah Brown, 11; Ka-Leah Brown, 10; and Amorra Mims, 5.</p><p>To make things worse, an additional $475 for rent was due Jan. 1, leaving Coleman responsible for $1,010.</p><p>Coleman's landlord, Fred Wright, co-owner of the quadruplex, said he has been allowing her more time in order to avoid eviction.</p><p>“Thank God somebody's helping her,” Wright said of the CWAH award. “The $1,200 will bring her up to the end of December. She's a nice lady and she keeps her apartment clean.”</p><p>During the CWAH meeting, several agencies stepped up to provide other types of assistance. Brother's Keeper paid $50 toward Coleman's electric bill. Alice Hodgkins, a representative of The Salvation Army, offered to assist with other needs. Sonya Tyler, chief operating officer at Interfaith Emergency Services, is providing gas cards for Coleman's trips to Shands. Interfaith also is assisting with food, clothing and hygiene items for the family, Tyler said.</p><p>Interfaith has received $17,600 for rent and mortgage assistance through an annual United Way dispersement of FEMA money. Tyler said some of those funds will be used to help with Coleman's back rent, if she meets the requirements.</p><p>Hackmyer is thrilled at the way the agencies have rallied.</p><p>“That so typifies Community With A Heart, everybody stepping forward to help those in need,” he said. “She's just a very nice woman who's going through this emotional crisis, a baby in intensive care and not being able to pay her bills because of it.”</p><p>Coleman said was shocked recently to receive a past-due bill for $2,911.68 from UF Health Physicians. Upon calling the office, she learned that Medicaid had not paid her baby's doctor bills. She also found out the hospital bill had topped more than $617,000, with no indication of insurance benefits. The hospital's billing department is sending her a financial aid form, she said.</p><p>Lena Smith, a representative from Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida and a CWAH board member, said Coleman has been referred to her office regarding the hospital bill.</p><p>Meanwhile, Coleman said her family was helped during Christmas with toys provided by Marion County Children's Alliance, Brother's Keeper and Ocala Springs Elementary School.</p><p>“It's been a roller coaster ride for me,” she said. “My hope right now is just getting through this. I want to go back to school and get my diploma or GED. I'm striving to have a better year this year.”</p>